The next morning, Ryu and Jinsoku casually strolled up to the Guild Hall a few minutes before the sun would emerge to break the darkness. Ryu let out a big yawn as he rubbed his eyes. He was still working on fully waking up as they approached. Megami was already out front, and she briefly waved at them as soon as she noticed them. Ryu motioned back just as Souatari exploded out of the front doors to the headquarters. In a booming voice, he ecstatically said, "Good morning! I am glad you all are here on time. The rest of our party is at the front gate so let's go meet them." Jinsoku tilted his head back as he frustratingly went, "Ughhh" as he turned to head toward the city exit. Ryu followed while asking the guild leader, "Why did we not just meet there?" Souatari quickly obliged with an answer as he said, "I wanted to inform you guys that you are the main party entering the hideout. The other fifteen adventurers traveling there with us to assist are not ranked high enough to fight higher demons one on one like you three." Jinsoku audibly groaned even louder in front of them clearly agitated with the new development. Megami decided to chime in with a follow up question as she said, "Why are you not going in with us Guild Leader?"
Souatari sighed as he responded admitting to a truth that he did not like to believe, "I am not as strong as the three of you are. It pains me to say it, but I would hinder you guys in there, so I will stay outside with the rest of the adventurers and help them secure the area while assisting with the victims you guys bring back out." Megami and Ryu nodded while Jinsoku just continued walking with his hands in his pockets. As they rounded the center plaza heading toward the gate, Ryu was curious about what to expect at the hideout, so he finally decided to speak up and ask as he said, "What do you think we are walking into when we get there?" Souatari weighed the question as he tried to decide the best way to not bring everyone's spirits down. He was worried that the fear from the fact that there could be enemies powerful enough to kill them on this quest would make them hesitant. Jinsoku found the pause as an opportunity to incite terror in Megami and Ryu as he hurriedly answered, "A Demon General is worst case scenario while best case is just one or two Demon Captains." Megami appeared slightly shaken up from his words while Souatari looked annoyed from him being blunt. Ryu was not sure what type of demons his teacher was speaking of, so he was unsure of how to react.
He coughed to get his masters attention before asking, "What makes them so dangerous?" Jinsoku started laughing, so Souatari decided to answer, "The hierarchy of the demon world is the Demon Lord, his Generals, and their Captains. The Higher Demons, Lower Demons, Demoniods, and Cursed Beast are the foot soldiers in their army." Ryu was starting to get the idea of why he should be nervous as he nodded. Megami decided to clarify further for him, so he would be able to understand how dangerous it would be to encounter any of the leadership when they got there as she said, "Demon Generals are the strongest only second to the Demon Lord himself. They are extremely gifted in their MP capacity, magical abilities, and fighting techniques. We have twelve heroes because it takes at least two generationally strong humans to be able to fight one of them. Currently there are six generals with each having two captains below them for a total of twelve. The captains are incredibly powerful as well, but they can be handled by three or four versatilely talented adventuring parties or one capable hero." As she finished speaking, they came to a stop because they had finally arrived at the exit. The other adventurers were all gathered ready to embark on the journey. They were in the process of conducting final checks of everything required for the trip as Souatari's booming voice cut through the noise, "All right everyone, listen up! These three are the main party, and they will be in the third carriage. We will only call upon them for assistance if something truly dangerous occurs on our way there. Now, everybody load up the wagons and let's get on the road!"
His commands were answered by a collective, "Sir!" as everyone scrambled to their spots. The five wagons quickly set out on the trail heading East as everybody began to settle in for the long journey. There was very little conversation going on between the trio primarily because Ryu fell fast asleep shortly after they departed. As soon as he heard he was not going to be doing anything till they got there, he decided it was best to catch up on some much needed rest. Jinsoku and Megami were happily ignoring each other as he watched the outside pass by while she read a book she had brought with her for the travel. Several hours passed as the sun rose into the sky before a loud explosion and a violent aftershock throughout the carriage woke up Ryu. The adventurers were struggling to fight a gang of demons that they had stumbled upon. As Ryu exited their wagon, he quickly noted all of their locations and their rank. It appeared their were three lower demons and one higher demon. The higher demon was clearly the leader, and he had yet to join the fight as he watched the others battle. Jinsoku swiftly relayed commands to both of them because he knew the fighters they brought along with them did not stand a chance if they did not intervene soon as he said, "Ryu take the one on left and Megami you get the one on the right. We will leave the one in the middle for the old man and his goon squad." Before Ryu could ask him what he was going to be doing, he leapt into the air and disappeared into the surrounding trees in a flash of green.
As Ryu turned back to look at Megami, she suddenly took off charging toward the darkling on the right with her scythe glowing. He watched as several concentrated rods of light suddenly fired at it. The creature quickly evaded and blocked but was unsuccessful in avoiding all of them. It had several cuts and burns on its body as it jumped further back to gather itself. Ryu figured he could not let her show him up, so he quickly summoned five clones that dispersed into the forest to the left before he leapt into the air. He used his wind magic to keep himself levitating in the sky as he drew his dagger. As he swung the blade out in front of himself, he transformed it into a bow. He quickly launched a barrage of elemental arrows at the demon. The lightning, wind, ice, and fire projectiles chased the creature as it attempted to avoid them. Multiple explosions followed as the bolts smashed into the ground. It successfully zig zagged right out of reach of each strike before jumping into the air backwards. Five barriers suddenly appeared around it while it was airborne suspending it in the sky forcing it to block the flame arrow. It exploded on contact with the demon leaving a huge dark grey cloud of smoke behind. As the darkling fell back toward the earth, Ryu swiftly burst through the plume rapidly ascending upon it with his bow now morphed into a katana.
Before it could react, he had already used wind magic to propel himself past it. As he landed back on the grass, a gust was sent in every direction. He had enchanted his blade with a high level ice spell called Shatter Frost just as he sliced through its neck. His sword was still freezing the air around it as the demons body smashed into the ground shattering into a million pieces. The darkling in the middle had temporarily looked away and had watched as its comrade was vanquished to its surprise. Souatari swiftly used the opening to ram his kanabo into its knee effectively shattering its leg in one blow before he leapt into the air. He did a three sixty spin while swinging his weapon downward smashing it into the demons shoulder causing it to be launched down into the dirt and successfully incapacitating it. The final underling was badly hurt from its fight and was unable to comprehend how the battle had flipped so quickly. It attempted to retreat back to the higher demon just as a giant light spear plunged through its back. Black blood exploded out of its mouth from the hit as it collapsed to the ground dead. The grass was quickly stained at the feet of the higher demon as it snarled at them. Its voice was full of frustration as it said, "You pathetic humans think you can take me on. Those three were nothing compared to my power, but I have urgent news to rely, so you should feel lucky to have your lives spared this time."
It turned to flee before suddenly conjuring a black barrier just as Jinsoku's twin blades struck. It slide backwards several feet from the impact as its magical shield shattered. His teacher landed on the ground frustrated that his attack had not slice the creature into three different pieces. The demon was visibly on edge now sensing that the man in front of him was very dangerous. Jinsoku abruptly vanished with lightning speed forcing the darkling to rapidly evade while summoning a shadow blade. Thanks to Ryu's training, he was able to follow the movement of his master as he fought. Jinsoku had forced the hell spawn to go completely on defense. It was having to block strike after strike with its barriers and conjured sword. It was failing to find a moment to launch a counterattack as Ryu watched on in awe. His teacher was only getting faster and faster the longer the fight dragged on. It was evident he was slowly beginning to overwhelm the demon with his pure speed. A bunch of cuts were starting to appear on its body as they continued to battle. The darklings' black blood was splattering across the trees, bushes and grass as they rapidly moved in and out of the forest and the road. In the blink of an eye, Jinsoku utilized his incredible agility in combination with a wind spell to launch a precise sharp air slice from the swing of his blade. It cut through the hell spawns shield like butter as a deep slash appeared on its abdomen causing it to come to an abrupt stop in the middle of the path. Before it could attempt to move again, Jinsoku severed its right arm from its body. A pool of blood started to form on the ground below it from the fatal blows.
Jinsoku stopped right in front of it with a smirk on his face while saying, "I thought we were just weak feeble humans? Look at you now." It stared at him with malice in his eyes before falling to its knees because it no longer had the strength to stand. It tried to laugh but instead started coughing before spitting out some of its blood on the grass. It suddenly said, "I remember who you are now." The darkling got choked up again before taking a deep breath and continuing, "How dare you try to talk down to me Twin Blade Hero. Have you not told your friends how you ran away from…" Before it could finish, Jinsoku's fire imbued sword cut right through its mouth. Its entire body burst into flames as its flesh burnt to a crisp in mere seconds and the charred corpse fell to the earth. His teachers rage and bloodlust had everyone frozen in place as they watched him approach the lower demon Souatari had captured. He drove his blade right through the uninjured shoulder of the darkling and lifted it up off of the ground. It let out a short scream of pain as Jinsoku coldly asked, "How many of you pathetic pieces of shit are holed up in that cave?" Ryu could sense the overwhelming fear within the hell spawn as he watched it trying to answer. It had a quiver in its voice as it said, "What cave are…" Before it could finish, Jinsoku suddenly focused very powerful lightening magic into his sword. No one moved as he electrocuted the demon for several seconds before stopping.
Ryu finally snapped out of his frozen state upon hearing the excruciating pain the darkling was experiencing in front of him. He quickly walked up to Jinsoku from his right just as he was asking, "How many?" It still did not budge in answering as it started to frantically plead for help, "Please, I do not know what he is talking about. Any of you, please stop him." Before he could torture it any further for answers, Ryu grabbed his arm. His steely gaze turned toward his student as Ryu said, "Stop this Jinsoku. You know this is wrong." He continued to stare intimidatingly at his pupil, but to his surprise, Ryu did not back down. He could see in his eyes that he was unyielding in his bravery and courage. He removed his blade from its shoulder before swiftly cutting its head clean off with his other sword. As its body fell back to the dirt, he shrugged Ryu's hand away before shouldering past him. He walked back toward the third carriage as Souatari loudly cleared his throat. He quickly took charge as he said, "Okay everyone, let's tend to the injured and get everything ready to go again. We are still a few hours away, and it is important we arrive to our destination before the sun sets." Ryu continued to watch Jinsoku walk away when Megami suddenly stepped in front of him.
She had a kind smile on her face as she tried to offer Ryu some words of comfort, "You did the right thing by stopping him. I wish I had been strong enough to help you, but he can get such a scary emotionless look on his face. I was afraid to move." Ryu grinned wearily as he asked her, "Do you know why he got so upset from what the higher demon was saying because I have never seen him react like that before?" She leaned in toward him while cupping her hands around his ear. She then as quietly as possible said, "There is a rumor that during a battle with one of the demon generals a little over a year ago that he abandoned the other three heroes during the fighting. They told everyone upon their return that he was a coward that was afraid of death and was willing to sacrifice others for his own survival." Ryu shook his head in disbelief as he said, "There is no way he did that. He is not that kind of person." She shrugged her shoulders as she took a step back while saying, "That is just what I heard, but I only judge a person on what I know to be fact." They both started walking back to the wagon side by side while continuing their conversation. He was curious on her actual thoughts of Jinsoku as he asked, "What type of person do you think he is from your time with him?"
She started humming "Hmmm" for several seconds as she pondered the question. She stopped right outside of the carriage before turning to him and leaning in. She whispered her answer to him, "While he is a bit of an inconsiderate and rude ass, but I honestly believe under that bravado that he is an honorable man worthy of my respect." She pivoted back toward the door before climbing in as he followed her inside. Souatari quickly got the rest of the adventurers under control and organized outside. His incredible leadership had them ready to get back on their journey in roughly half an hour. The next two hours were extremely awkward as they sat in silence while Jinsoku continued to brood. Ryu was relieved when they came to a stop and Souatari opened their door. As they filed out of the wagon, he started to explain to them the situation, "We are near the forest edge of their hideout. I sent out three scouts to assess the security of their lair while everyone else is working on covering up these wagons, so they blend in with the trees." While he continued speaking, Ryu noticed they were being approached by a short tan man dressed in tight dark blue clothes with dark green accents. His mask was pulled up over his mouth and nose.
As the man came to a stop right next to them, Ryu started listening again, "Megami, Jinsoku, and Ryu please meet Chinmoku. She is one of the best scouts in the land and appears to have returned with her report of the area." Ryu was taken aback that the person in front of him was a female as he looked her over again. She bowed to Souatari before saying in one of the softest voices he had ever heard, "We discovered that they have eight demoniods stationed out front protecting the entrance with four cursed wolves. We have seen an additional three or four demoniods per party traveling in and out of the cave with lower demons accompanying them. There is also at least two higher demons within the cave. They came out briefly to check the surrounding areas around the hideout at one point." He appeared to be observing intently what she was saying when in reality he was still trying to piece together the fact that she was a girl. The guild leader laughed as he put his hand on her arm while saying, "I thought you were taking one of those public speaking classes every few nights a week back in the city Chinmoku? The slightest wind could carry your words away." She pulled her mask down and her hood off to reveal a bundle of long black wavey hair. It had one solid blood red strip in it that went from the center of her head down to a portion of her bangs. She threw it to the side before tucking it behind her ear. She smiled slightly just as Jinsoku surprisingly chimed in, "At least she is not writing it down for us to read anymore. I am shocked with your old age you were able to hear her at all Souatari."
A kunai suddenly shot at him as he comfortably weaved out of the way. Ryu watched as it ripped right through the base of one tree a short distance away and plunged deep into the oak behind it. He whistled under his breath as he turned back around in excitement. He watched as she angrily fell to the ground and punch it before frustratingly saying, "Why did you bring this degenerate loser guild leader? He is always so rude to everyone. He is literally the worse human alive." Jinsoku coldly stared at her with his magic lapping off of him as he said, "Did I just hear you right you dam blood sucker?" Ryu turned back to her with figurative stars in his eyes as he excitedly asked, "Does that mean you are a vampire ninja Chinmoku!?" She proudly looked up while wiping her angry tears away before boastfully saying, "I am one of the Blood Moon's finest warriors to ever exist." He was struggling to contain his giddiness at meeting a vampire when he noticed the sun was creeping toward her through the shadows. He suddenly freaked out and casted an Earth Wall around her to block the sun from burning her to ash. He frantically checked her surroundings as he tried to make sure no more light was close to her. Everyone awkwardly stared at him as they tried to figure out why he was acting weird. Megami confusingly asked, "What are you doing?" He stopped as he realized everyone was watching him. He quickly tried to defend himself as he said, "What do you mean! She is a vampire, so doesn't that mean the sun will burn her if it touches her!?"
Chinmoku started laughing as Megami shook her head in disappointment. Souatari felt bad for him, so he decided to provide him with an explanation as he said, "That is an old folk lore kid. Vampires are not weak to the sun. They do however lose the ability to regenerate if they are set aflame. They are naturally faster and stronger than humans, and they can see incredibly well in the dark. They also sustain themselves on animal blood, but all of their affinities and physical capabilities are elevated for a short period if they drink human blood." Ryu coughed awkwardly as he stood back straight while asking, "What about the stake to the heart thing?" Chinmoku threw her hands up in the air as she answered, "Why do people think that is a vampire thing, doesn't that kill everyone?" He rubbed the back of his head as he stupidly grinned while saying, "Touche." Jinsoku had been silent during this time and was stewing in his anger from being ignored. Before he could ask anything else, his teacher put him in a headlock as he callously said, "Which way is the hideout fangs because I have a sudden urge for blood myself, and if I stay here much longer, someone's going to die." The coldness in his voice chilled everyone to their bone as she quickly pointed behind herself while saying, "It is about four hundred feet that way." He started walking away while dragging Ryu along with him under his arm still choking him slightly with the tight lock around his neck.
Everyone silently followed them through the woods as Ryu struggled to get out of his masters grasp. His teacher finally let go of him when they started to approach a clearing out front of an entrance to a cave. Souatari started whispering a potential plan that he hoped would keep the combat to a minimum because he did not want to alert the demons inside. Jinsoku suddenly leaned in next to Ryu while saying, "Watch closely kid, and you might learn something." As he turned to tell him to listen, he watched him suddenly move at an extremely fast speed like earlier when they were fighting. Ryu intently observed his movement when he finally realized how his master was so blindingly quick. His teacher was utilizing wind magic to cut a hole through the air while buffing himself and using the spell Gust to push himself rapidly through the tunnel he was creating. As he weaved among the demoniods and curse beast guarding out front of the hideout, Ryu marveled at how fluid and precise he was slicing through them. He was controlling every muscle in his body to ensure he avoided wasting any movement. As he came to a stop, he had his back to them and was standing in front of the cave. His twin blades were pointed at the ground as Ryu continued to stare at him. It felt to him that time had slowed and reality was just catching up as the bodies of all of the hell spawn fell to the earth and their black blood spewed into the air soaking the clearing. A powerful blast of wind blew past them in the tree line knocking Ryu's hood down. His hair blew back momentarily as he stared awestruck at the display of skill his master had just demonstrated.
Souatari sighed as he ran his hand over his slicked back hair and stood up. He started walking out into the clearing while instructing the other adventurers in a normal tone to quickly move all of the bodies out of the field. Ryu, Megami, and Chinmoku started stepping through the carnage till they were behind Jinsoku. As they came to a stop, his teacher decided to continue deeper into the hideout forcing them to follow. Ryu leaned over and whispered to Chinmoku, "Why are you coming along? I thought the plan was just the three of us?" She waved her finger at him before putting her hair away and pulling her mask back over her nose. She finally said, "I am tiring of letting that jerk get all of the praise. I am coming along to help. You do not have to worry about me. I can handle myself better than you think." Megami leaned over and decided to join the conversation as she said, "Chinmoku and me are rivals, so do not be deceived by how you saw her acting earlier." He nodded as they continued until Jinsoku suddenly stopped. Chinmoku grabbed Ryu's and Megami's arm while quietly saying, "Two lower demons ahead with three demoniods." Jinsoku flicked his head in the direction of the darklings while saying, "You are up kid. Take them all out swiftly and quietly." Ryu stepped up and drew his dagger before morphing it into a short sword since the walls of the cave were too narrow for a katana.
He took a deep breathe and prepared himself to strike as he quickly casted powerful Buff magic on himself to enhance his physical abilities. He then utilized the wind to cloak himself. He harnessed the air to create a layer between himself and the space around his body that absorbed all sound before it could travel away from him. He had been inspired by his master's performance earlier, so he decided to give something new a try. He suddenly launched himself toward the hell spawn so fast that Chinmoku and Megami could barely follow his movements. Right before his blade sliced through the chest of the first one, he enchanted it with a powerful wind spell called Aeration Laceration. He pirouetted through them cutting deep into the chest of each one before they could move. As he came to stop, he was in a low stance with his weapon curved upward above his head. He was on the opposite side of the darklings as slits formed across all of their skins. Their bodies fell to the ground in a bunch of pieces as he stood back up straight. Chinmoku ran over and pushed him lightly while excitedly whispering, "That was awesome! How come I couldn't hear your footsteps?" He proudly grinned as he quietly said, "I manipulated the wind around myself, so that it surrounded me and essentially stifled any noise I made."
Chinmoku felt desperate to prove to everyone that she was talented to, so she quickly told all of them that she had the next enemy they came across as they started walking again. Megami swiftly countered that she would help her because she did not want to allow her rival to look more impressive then herself. The two of them took the lead down the passage while jostling each other till they neared an opening. As they came to a stop in the shadows right before the chambers, Ryu glanced around and noticed two more hallways on the opposite side. The two higher demons that were reported earlier were coming out of the entrance of the tunnel on the left. His teacher saw an opportunity to rile Chinmoku and Megami up as he silently said, "Let's have the vampire take the one on the left while the witch fights the one on the right. Here is y'alls test to see which one of you is actually stronger." They both exchanged a look before taking off across the chamber. Ryu shook his head as he asked his master, "Why?" Jinsoku chuckled as he said, "Because this will be good. Just stand there and watch kid. They do not need as much protecting as you think." Ryu watched as they both sprang into action. Megami started the battle by firing a compact ball of light at the pair of darklings that exploded right in front of them in a brilliant white flash.
They both managed to raise their arms and turn their heads to avoid being completely blinded, but he could tell they were disoriented. The one on the left attempted to dodge a kunai that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The blade cut its right thigh deeply, but it avoided having its limb completely separated from its body as black blood started flowing down its leg. Meanwhile, Megami had forced the one on the right to take evasive maneuvers to avoid multiple light rods that chased after it. The darkling failed to avoid being clipped by most of them though as multiple burn marks appeared across its body. With the two of them isolated from each other, the race to defeat a higher demon first was now on between the two women. He watched as Chinmoku rapidly disappeared and reappeared out of the shadows that were casted around the room while her enemy conjured a long black spear and assumed a high guard while struggling to put weight on its injured leg. Jinsoku had noticed his student staring intently and figured he was trying to determine why the wound that was inflicted by her kunai was not healing, so he decided to inform Ryu of her unique skills as he said, "There is a reason she choose the profession of ninja. You see how that cut is not regenerating. It is probably one of her poisons. She has an affinity in Detection Magic, Poison Magic, Shadow Magic, Illusion Magic, and Short Blades."
Ryu could barely contain his excitement upon hearing what skills she possessed as he continued to watch. He was eagerly waiting to see something truly extraordinary from her as he quickly glanced over at Megami. He was curious on how her fight was unfolding when he noticed she had summoned a spirit army. He counted six warriors with swords and shields that were being supported by three archers with short bows and one wizard. He could tell by how hard they were attacking the demon and keeping it on the defensive that she had also casted multiple Buff spells on all of her spirits. While they were antagonizing the darkling, she was applying her own pressure by firing light rods at it every time she noticed an opening in its defense. Jinsoku scoffed as he pointed over at her while saying, "Now you can see why I called her a witch. Her Clairvoyance allows her to basically predict its movement. That is how she knows when to launch her attacks." Ryu briefly turned his attention back to Chinmoku's battle to see the demon frantically dodging and defending multiple copies of her. The shadows around the chambers suddenly started racing toward the hell spawn as soon as it went airborne to evade one of her illusions. They grabbed its legs and yanked it back down to the ground just as she emerged from the darkness above it.
Ryu watched in horror as it smiled before stabbing its conjured weapon upwards impaling her. Just as he was about to move to try to save her, she disintegrated into a cloud of dust that rained down on the darkling. Its skin started to melt as the powder made contact with it causing the creature to be temporarily blinded as it fell to its knees. She suddenly appeared behind it with a dagger in her hand and delivered a swift cut to its neck killing it instantly. As its body fell to the dirt, he turned his focus back to Megami's fight. It appeared she was close to winning her battle as well. The demon appeared exhausted as it sluggishly blocked the blades of the spirit warriors. While it had appeared that the apparitions were just trying to wear it down with brute force, they were actually funneling it into a trap. The mage suddenly conjured multiple light blue vines that wrapped around the hell spawns legs preventing it from moving. The swordsmen suddenly sprung forward in unison as the archers released their arrows. It managed to block three of the six swords but was impaled by the others as the projectiles struck its body. Megami had swiftly wrapped her way behind it as she raised her amazing scythe and decapitated it. Her spirits vanished as the darklings body fell to the earth. She gradually made her way over to Chinmoku before taking a seat next to her on the ground. They both appeared to be spent from the fighting as Ryu and Jinsoku walked over to them.
His teacher sarcastically started to slow clap as they approached while saying, "Good thing there wasn't more than one because it seems you two had to give everything just to win your individual fights." Ryu gently shoved him in the arm while saying, "Ignore him guys. What he meant to say was you two were incredible." He angrily shook his head as he said, "That is not even close kid, and did you really just push me?" Ryu grinned as he said, "Come on master, you do not need to be such a hard ass all the time. They were amazing and you know it." Jinsoku suddenly jumped on his student causing them to fall to the ground. They started wrestling while still arguing, but it was hard to understand what either one of them was saying at this point. Chinmoku and Megami laughed at them as they laid down on the dirt. A few minutes passed before Jinsoku got back to his feet with a big smile on his face as he held his pupil in a headlock. While keeping Ryu under his arm, he started to give orders as he said, "Chinmoku and Megami, I want you two to go down the tunnel to the right. I am detecting people alive further down that way, so I want you two to work together to get whoever is alive out of here. We will go the other way to confront whomever these higher demons just got done visiting."
The both got back to their feet and nodded before turning to walk down there path as Ryu loudly said, "Be careful." As they disappeared into the darkness, his teacher let go of him and started to shuffle down the other passage while saying, "Be ready kid. I am sensing a powerful foe ahead." Ryu nodded as his master asked, "Have you began to notice how the higher a demon is ranked the more their appearance changes?" He thought about the question as he followed and realized that lower demons were more physically monstrous. They varied, but they generally had horns, scales, claws, and red or black skin with eyes to match. Now that he was actually contemplating it, the higher demons closely resembled demoniods. They possessed some human qualities but still had distinguishing demonic features. He finally answered his masters question as he said, "They began to resemble humans the more powerful they are?" Jinsoku nodded as he said, "The more they appear human, the more deadly they are. The twelve captains are almost identical to us, but they still possess an abnormality like short horns, black or red eyes, a tail, or claws that allow us to still tell they are of evil origin. The generals are a different story. The only way you can tell they are one of the cursed is by a pentagram mark that is somewhere on their body."
He wanted to ask him how strong the captains and generals were, but his teacher suddenly yanked him behind a rock. They had come across an entrance to a large chamber that was almost double the size of the one they were just in about twenty minutes ago. Jinsoku put a finger over his mouth as he motioned for Ryu to be quiet while shrugging his head in the direction ahead of them about thirty feet away. As he gazed across the opening, he noticed a man kneeling on the ground. He had bright green shaggy hair and a pair of short curled black horns protruding from his head. He also noticed he had two circular blades holstered on the lower part of his back that were slightly overlapping each other. The edge of the weapons were silver while the place where you held them was jet black. Ryu suddenly recalled the name of the discs from his old world. They were called Chakrams as he watched as a circular light flash in front of the darkling for several seconds before finally fading away. He was momentarily shocked as another man appeared out of thin air. The new person had a bowl cut of black hair with bangs that hung down slightly in front of his eyes. He was wearing an elegantly designed black and gold tunic with a black cloak draped around his shoulders. His waist had a belt around it supporting two long skinny swords that appeared to be rapiers. The blades were a brilliant silver while the hilts were intricately forged with gold. He now understood why Jinsoku wanted to discuss the difference between each level of a demon. He was positive they were in the presence of a captain and his general.
Ryu could faintly hear the person kneeling say, "…I am sorry we have had some setbacks in our operation in this region… Please forgive me General Kurayami for my failures." The demon that was referred to as Kurayami raised his hand as his underlying finished. He suddenly cleared his throat before loudly saying, "It is okay Denki. I can tell the humans in this kingdom are particular difficult to control. We have two of them rudely spying on us right now." Denki quickly got to his feet while reaching for his chakrams as Jinsoku stepped out behind the rock. Ryu swiftly followed him out into the opening while clinching the hilt of his dagger. Kurayami swiftly interjected before the situation could escalate as he said, "Let's all calm down. I am more interested in learning who you humans are and how you found this place. Can we not have a civilized conversation before getting down to business?" Denki let go of his weapons as Jinsoku nodded for Ryu to do the same. The general smiled before coldly saying, "Now that we are all relaxed, I will give you the honor of speaking before I kill you both."